This invention relates to an improved card holder. More particularly, it relates to an improved metal card holder to replace the plastic card holders presently used by hospitals to house a plastic patient identification card and tabby.
An assembly as described above, i.e., the card holder, plastic patient identification card and tabby, is used in an imprinter, and is the overall major device for hospitals to record and bill patient's for services and medication administered while in the hospital. The plastic patient identification card is embossed with vital patient information, while the tabby is embossed with a room or bed number and affixed to the card holder. The plastic patient identification card is placed in the card holder carrying the room or bed number in which the patient is located, and obviously, can be removed and replaced in an appropriately numbered card holder if the patient is moved to another room or bed.
The card holder, or room jacket, with the tabby are designed to eliminate the need for hospitals to emboss a room or bed number on the actual patient identification card. When the room or bed number is embossed on the patient identification card, the card has to be re-made if the patient is moved from one room or bed to another. With the provision of the room jacket, the patient identification card is simply removed and inserted in the appropriately numbered from jacket.
Card holders of this type, or room jackets as they are commonly called, presently are available, however, most are fabricated of plastic and have limited useful lives of approximately 2-6 months, depending upon the extent of use. PG,3 One such card holder which is used extensively is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,379,130. These plastic card holders, while used extensively, all suffer various defects including the fact that they attract dirt and oils from being handled, since they are fabricated of plastic and contain static electricity. In addition, these card holders normally are very thin and therefore relatively flimsy. They therefore are easily bent out of shape, and once they are, they must be discarded and replaced. When the plastic is folded, as in the case of the card holder of the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,379,130, the plastic tends to break after a limited period of use, rendering the card holder useless. In many cases, the construction of the card holder limits the number of lines of patient information which can be embossed on the patient identification card.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved card holder.
More particularly, it is an object to provide an improved metal card holder to replace the plastic card holders generally used by hospitals to house a plastic patient identification card and tabby.
The above and other objectives are accomplished with the card holder of the present invention which is fabricated of metal, preferably stainless steel, and is of a size substantially corresponding to the size of the identification card to be removably supported by it. Being of metal, the useful life of the card holder is far greater than those of plastic. The card holder has parallel side edges, each of which has at least one and preferably two upstanding stops integrally formed therewith, which stops have a height substantially corresponding to the thickness of the identification card. These upstanding stops prevent lateral movement of the identification card with respect to the card holder. In addition a generally L-shaped retainer is integrally formed with each of the parallel top and bottom edges of the card holder, and these L-shaped retainers form slots for receiving therein the upper and lower edges of the identification card to effectively secure the identification card in and affixed against movement to the card holder. A tab portion also is integrally formed with the top edge of the card holder, and indicia such as a room or bed number is permanently embossed on this tab portion, thus eliminating the need for adhesively affixed tabbys and the like. Preferably a support tab is fixedly secured beneath the tab portion on its backside to support the tab portion during imprinting, so that a clear print of the embossed indicia is provided. A semi-circular cut-out in at least one side edge of the card holder is provided to assist in removing the identification card from the card holder.